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How do I know if I can have laser eye surgery?

I tell about 1 in 5 people who come for laser eye surgery that they are unsuitable. Sounds like quite a high percentage right? That's because the number one consideration is safety, especially given laser eye surgery is an elective procedure.

There can be many reasons why you are found unsuitable for laser eye surgery. Some of the more common reasons are:

-cornea too thin

-cornea too irregular

-prescription too high

-prescription not stable yet

-eye too dry

Of course, you won't know all of this unless you come in for a suitability assessment. And even then, it may be a matter of you being more suited to one kind of laser eye surgery than another. For example, if you have a higher degree of short-sightedness (myopia) like -3.00 and above or dry eye, SMILE laser eye surgery may be a better choice than LASIK.

Your optometrist can also give you some advice re. suitability. It's good to find out as many patients think about laser eye surgery for years and years and then when they finally decide they want to do it, they are hugely disappointed to find they are unsuitable.

Also some patients whom were unsuitable in the past, now have newer options due to changes in technology. So like the old saying goes " if you don't ask, you will never know"

* Information on this blog is general in nature and should not be taken as professional medical advice or as a substitute for a consultation with a medical professional.